26 July 2013

Welcome to our
newest edition of our bi-weekly feature Upfront Mini Bytes. In Upfront Mini Bytes we provide eight tasty
bits of genealogy news that will help give you a deeper byte into your family
history research. Each item is short and sweet. We encourage you to check
out the links to articles, blog posts, resources, and anything genealogical!

We hope you found
the past editions helpful. Use your
favorite search engine with “Upfront with NGS” “Mini Bytes” or use this Google search link.

Do you have
questions, suggestions for future posts, or comments? Please post a comment or send an e-mail to [email protected].

How old is the
average country?
This post looks at years of independence to “age” each country. The relevance to genealogists is that such a
date (and sense of age) might help us as we search for records. Are we looking under a “new” name when an old
name for the country was relevant when our ancestors were alive and/or lived
there? For example, East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971. Do check out the underlying map here.

There has been much
discussion recently about engaging the younger generations in genealogy
research. And, though, it might be hard
for those of us who have been doing genealogy for decades to believe, there are
many older individuals who have not yet explored their ancestry. With that in mind, the article Why encourage your
ageing parent to investigate their family history? reminded me that I do have many
friends who are not genealogists. Additionally, many families are often seeking
some activity that brings the family together.
Might not exploring one’s family history do the job?

Sticking with maps, there was another neat one created called A
'Whom Do You Hang With?' Map Of America. Though these maps
reflect contemporary connections – e.g. where the money goes, who you talk
with, etc. – you can also use it to think about your ancestors. We know from researching families that you
would get little “hubs” of activity around a state line (e.g. NC/VA) or between
two areas (northeastern NC and the whole Norfolk/Portsmouth area) for jobs,
etc. Maybe you can figure out whom your
ancestors and their neighbors interacted with.

Maintaining and
archiving family history is critical.
Remember, as you live your life, you are creating historical documents
and taking historical photos and videos, etc.
These and any items we inherit or acquire from those who lived before us
need to be archived so that future generations can enjoy them as well. Do check out the three-part New York Times
series, Tips on Archiving Family History – Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Throughout time,
abbreviations have had a place in writing and then in what we read. To this day, I abbreviate all kinds of words
as I jot notes in my calendar.
Fortunately, it seems that for the most part, when forenames were
abbreviated by clerks, they were fairly consistent in which abbreviations were
used for which names. Check out First Name Abbreviations. Does this mean those listed were the
only abbreviations used? Of course not and they do give you a place to start.

Are you
Irish American? If so, you might have
some fun with this infographic created by Genealogybank. Details
are provided below the image.

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